Fostering Students Use of Apps for Responding to and Creating Texts
Richard Beach
This presentation focuses on methods for fostering students use of apps for responding to and creating texts (for resources: usingipads.pbworks.com; digitalwriting.pbworks.com; for selecting apps based on app affordances, grade level, purpose, and subject matter (techscaffold.com). For responding to and collaboratively sharing their responses to texts, students can employ apps for responding to specific parts of a text as well as share their responses with peers to generate a virtual discussion.
Students Engagement in Critical Discourse using Literature Circles and SLACK
Victoria Cardullo
Student online comprehension requires information processing rather than information storage. Join me as we explore the use of online literature circles to enhance collaborative discussion and reflective processing. Strategic collaborative discussion in both oral and written discourse during literature circles fosters a more in-depth reflection and awareness of events. Using e-text literature books and SLACK, we will develop online learning spaces to process information being read. During this session, we will discuss the intentional use of breakout rooms, discuss how to monitor the discussions using equity maps, and the implementation of SLACK to continue the discussion beyond the classroom. Critical discourse during online teaching requires connections and opportunities for spaces to engage in collaborative discussion; these spaces require intentionality and engagement. Let's come together to seek out opportunities to promote critical discourse engagement.
Internet Research Takes Skill!
Jennifer Van Allen
Online research and reading on the Internet for academic purposes pose unique challenges for teaching and learning, especially when considering different instructional contexts. Online researchers must not only use traditional reading strategies, such as decoding unknown words, understanding new vocabulary in context, and summarizing to understand online text, but must also navigate the complexities of online texts. Internet reading involves additional skills, such as navigating your own reading path through search engines and hyperlinks, interacting with video, audio, and images, often within the same text, searching for and evaluating information about the author of a website, and managing multiple webpages and websites as you gather coherent information related to your search. Explicit instruction and supported practice of these skills in upper elementary and middle grades are largely ignored in curriculum; yet, students are increasingly expected to use and apply these skills effectively and independently as they progress through their middle and high school years. Participants will explore online research skills and co-construct strategies to embed instruction and supported practice of these skills into their online classrooms.
Formative Assessment, Feedback, and Comprehension - The Three Keys
Thomas DeVere Wolsey
Reading comprehension can be a challenge for middle grade students as text become more specialized and more complex. Interaction between teacher and student to scaffold comprehension instruction in synchronous and asynchronous classrooms becomes more difficult when students need small group instruction or even one-on-one instruction. This workshop focuses on how teachers can gather useful assessment information, use it to provide helpful feedback, and motivate students to read and succeed in the virtual environment.
Close Reading Instruction in the Virtual Setting
Laura McCusker
Close reading instruction involves collaborative discussions stemming from multiple readings of challenging text. Students participate by annotating the text and engaging in discussions around content and elements of the author's craft. Join Dr. McCusker to experience how a close reading lesson online would engage students virtually and produce evidence of thinking for the teacher.
During Reading Discussions Online
Nance S. Wilson
What students do during reading is at the heart of how they comprehension. Online tools, such as Perusall and NowComment, allow teachers to get a glimpse into students' during reading processing and to focus in on strategies that will aid in comprehension. In this presentation, participants will learn more about the importance of during reading and how to use online tools to foster both comprehension and discussion.
